I have a 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland with the 5.7L Hemi and Trailer Tow Group IV, HD brakes, HD cooling, Tow/Haul Mode and 220 Amp.

I am getting conflicting info as to what size Travel Trailer I can safely and reasonably tow. I know the manual says 7,200 lbs. GTW, but is that pushing it?

Has anyone trailered say, a 27' Keystone Springdale Travel Trailer with a dry weight of 5,110 and a fully loaded weight of 7,500? The Hitch Weight on this one is just under 600 lbs. I would use a stabilizing hitch obviously.

Could this work for the long haul or am I trying to much here?

teddydunton

06-20-2013 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gowestwardho
(Post 15554091)

I have a 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland with the 5.7L Hemi and Trailer Tow Group IV, HD brakes, HD cooling, Tow/Haul Mode and 220 Amp.

I am getting conflicting info as to what size Travel Trailer I can safely and reasonably tow. I know the manual says 7,200 lbs. GTW, but is that pushing it?

Has anyone trailered say, a 27' Keystone Springdale Travel Trailer with a dry weight of 5,110 and a fully loaded weight of 7,500? The Hitch Weight on this one is just under 600 lbs. I would use a stabilizing hitch obviously.

Could this work for the long haul or am I trying to much here?

I have the 2012 GC Laredo with the 3.6. It has the IV tow package with a 5,000lb rating. I can tell you that we've hauled a 2 horse slant trailer which is around 2600lbs loaded with two horses that are 1000lbs plus each. So with gear and everything I think we are right around 5,000lbs. We've drove 7 hours without any problems. It does stay in 3rd gear for the most part, but does well. We haven't yet had the chance to haul in hot weather so not sure about any over heating. I don't think it was over 75-80 degrees when we made our long hauls. If we were hauling all the time then we would probably get something different or the V8. We also use a weight distributing hitch.

txwest

06-20-2013 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gowestwardho
(Post 15554091)

I have a 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland with the 5.7L Hemi and Trailer Tow Group IV, HD brakes, HD cooling, Tow/Haul Mode and 220 Amp.

I am getting conflicting info as to what size Travel Trailer I can safely and reasonably tow. I know the manual says 7,200 lbs. GTW, but is that pushing it?

Has anyone trailered say, a 27' Keystone Springdale Travel Trailer with a dry weight of 5,110 and a fully loaded weight of 7,500? The Hitch Weight on this one is just under 600 lbs. I would use a stabilizing hitch obviously.

Could this work for the long haul or am I trying to much here?

I have the exact same setup on my Jeep. I hauled an older 18' trailer last summer when we went to float the river. It had the same weight ratings as the trailer you mentioned above. It was like towing a brick. I didn't have sway bars or the dist. hitch. The newer model trailers are made better and lower to the ground. You just have to factor how much wind drag you can handle. Also, I wouldn't pull one bigger than 18' without a brake controlller.

The Jeep did a great job of moving that much weight around even through the 3hrs or driving 2 lane roads in the Texas Hill Country. Total time on the road was about 6 hours in the Texas summer heat. No issues with tranny temps or coolant temps. I wouldn't have any hesitation pulling a 24' with the right equipment. The Jeep can handle it you just have to be smart about it. 5th gear with tow/haul engaged and 65-70 is where I found it to run the best.

Where did you get those weight values? The lightest shipping weight at http://www.keystonerv.com/springdale/#/specs is 6,400 lbs. Once you add in your camping gear, clothing, food, propane, maybe some water in the tank you'll be surprised how much it all adds up.

In my experience towing with 2 Jeeps and a Durango, you can expect to be climbing mountain grades at about 40 MPH if you're at the maximum towing capacity. That's good enough for some people and not for others.

greytlovers

06-20-2013 08:10 PM

IMO towing at your Jeep's maximum load rating is something that should be avoided. A good rule of thumb is to give yourself a 25% cushion. So if your Jeep is rated at 7200 lbs, then the maximum load you should tow is 5400 lbs. Also, consider using a weight distribution hitch if you do not have any other load leveling capability.

To me, pulling at maximum load is like running your engine a few hundred RPM below redline; not something I would want to do for hours at a time.

You have to be able to do those speeds here in Texas to keep from getting run over! Mine tows 5000lbs with a car on and open trailer pretty easily up to those speeds. But it does work hard up grades and from a dead lift. When I pull my 5x10 enclosed motorcycle trailer that only weighs 3000lb it really struggles against the wind/frontal area. Now only 65-70 feels comfortable, and most hills trigger a downshift.

I think it could handle your load, but will be working very hard to do so.

LouC

06-26-2013 05:22 PM

Keep in mind that most trailer tires are only speed rated to about 65 mph, LOL. If you want to tow at higher speeds safely, you have to upgrade to LT tires that are speed rated to about 85 mph. The most weight capacity you can get in LTs for 15" rims is about 1985 lbs @50 psi. If you need more you might have to go to 16" rims. More choices there. But I would NOT tow at such high speeds on ST trailer tires because of the generally poor quality of them, this has been well documented everywhere.
I've towed a boat that on the trailer is close to 25' long with my WK but it probably topped out at only 4500 lbs so that was easy. Make sure that the trailer brakes work and that you have a WD hitch.